Cast

Musikalische Leitung

Kent Nagano

General Music Director of Hamburg

Kent Nagano

Kent Nagano is renowned for interpretations of clarity, elegance and intelligence. He is equally at home in music of the classical, romantic and contemporary eras, introducing concert and opera audiences throughout the world to new and rediscovered music and offering fresh insights into established repertoire. He has been Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal since September 2006 where his contract has been extended until 2020. In September 2013, he became Artistic Advisor and Principal Guest Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. In September 2015, he took up the position of General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra. With his Hamburg orchestra he went on South America Tour in the beginning of season 2016/17, with concerts e.g. in Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo and Bogotá. On 13 January 2017 Kent Nagano conducted the world premiere of a new oratorio by Jörg Widmann as the very first concert with the Philharmonic State Orchestra in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg on the occasion of the inauguration festivities of the new hall. Since then the traditional Philharmonic Concerts take place in the new Elbphilharmonie. In February 2017 he stood at the rostrum of the orchestra for the premiere of Alban Berg’s “Lulu”. Kent Nagano started his first season with the premiere of Berlioz‘ “Les Troyens”, the world premiere of Toshio Hosokawas “Stilles Meer” followed in January 2016. Messiaen’s symphony “Turangalîla” choreographed by John Neumeier was premiered in early July 2016.

With the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Kent Nagano went on US tour in March 2016. A milestone at the helm of the OSM was the inauguration of the orchestra’s new concert hall “La Maison Symphonique” in September 2011. Highlights with the orchestra include the complete cycles of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies, Schoenberg's “Gurrelieder”, concert versions of Wagner's “Tannhäuser”, “Tristan und Isolde”, “Das Rheingold”, Honegger’s “Jeanne d’Arc au Bûcher”, Messiaen's “Saint François d'Assise”, and concert series featuring the works of Dutilleux (2010-11) and Boulez (2011-12). Nagano has taken the orchestra on a coast-to-coast tour of Canada and also to tours to Japan, South Korea, Europe and South America. In October 2014 they embarked on their second tour to Japan. Their recordings together include Mahler’s “Orchestral Songs” with Christian Gerhaher, Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 and a complete recording of all the Symphonies by Beethoven of which the album “Ideals of the French Revolution” with Symphony No. 5 won a Juno award. In March 2015 Kent Nagano conducted the North American Premiere of “L’Aiglon”, a rare opera of Honegger and Ibert. This production was recorded and released by Decca and has won an ECHO Klassik 2016. “Danse Macabre” followed as second production with Decca, with works by Dukas, Dvo&#345;ák, Mussorgsky, Balakirev, Saint-Saens and Ives in October 2016.

At the Bayerische Staatsoper, where he was General Music Director from 2006 to 2013, Kent Nagano commissioned new operas such as “Babylon” by Jörg Widmann, Das “Gehege” by Wolfgang Rihm and “Alice in Wonderland” by Unsuk Chin. New productions have included Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” and “Khovanshchina”, “Idomeneo”, “Eugene Onegin”, “Ariadne auf Naxos” and “Die Schweigsame Frau”, “Les Dialogues des Carmélites”, “St François d’Assise”, “Wozzeck”, George Benjamin’s “Written on Skin” and “Der Ring des Nibelungen”. With the Bayerisches Staatsorchester Nagano has toured throughout Europe and in Japan and together they have recorded Bruckner Symphonies No. 4, 7 and 8. In January 2014, Kent Nagano returned to the Bayerische Staatsoper to conduct a revival of Widmann’s “Babylon”.

As a much sought after guest conductor, Nagano has worked with most of the world’s finest orchestras, just as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonics, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Concerto Köln, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rom and at Wiener Festwochen. Since 2014 he is forming his own festival as part of the AUDI Sommerkonzerte, called Vorsprung-Festival. He has an ongoing relationship with Sony Classical and has also recorded for Erato, Teldec, Pentatone and Deutsche Grammophon as well as Harmonia Mundi, winning Grammy awards for his recordings of Busoni’s “Doktor Faust” with Opéra National de Lyon, “Peter and the Wolf” with the Russian National Orchestra and Saariaho’s “L’amour de Loin” with the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin.

A very important period in Nagano’s career was his time as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, from 2000-2006. He performed Schönberg’s “Moses und Aron” with the orchestra (in collaboration with Los Angeles Opera), and took them to the Salzburg Festival to perform both Zemlinsky’s “Der König Kandaules” and Schreker’s “Die Gezeichneten”, as well as to the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden with “Parsifal” and “Lohengrin” in productions by Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Recordings with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin for Harmonia Mundi include repertoire as diverse as Bernstein’s Mass, Bruckner’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 6, Beethoven’s “Christus am Ölberge”, Wolf Lieder, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and Schönberg’s “Die Jakobsleiter” and “Friede auf Erden”, as well as Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 and Schönberg’s “Variationen für Orchester” Op. 31. In June 2006, at the end of his tenure with the orchestra, Kent Nagano was given the title Honorary Conductor by members of the orchestra, only the second recipient of this honour in their 60-year history. To this day he has a close friendship to the orchestra.

Kent Nagano became the first Music Director of Los Angeles Opera in 2003 having already held the position of Principal Conductor for two years. His work in other opera houses has included Shostakovich’s “The Nose” (Staatsoper Berlin), Rimsky Korsakov’s “The Golden Cockerel” (Châtelet, Paris), Hindemith’s “Cardillac” (Opéra national de Paris), “Dialogues des Carmélites” (Metropolitan Opera) and at the Salzburg Festival “Les Contes d’Hoffmann”, Zemlinsky’s “Der Koenig Kandaules”, Schreker’s “Die Gezeichneten” and the world premiere of Saariaho’s “L’amour de loin”. Other world premieres include Bernstein’s “A White House Cantata” and operas by Peter Eötvös (“Three Sisters”), and John Adams (“The Death of Klinghoffer” and “El Niño”).

Born in California, Nagano maintains close connections with his home state and was Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra from 1978-2008. His early professional years were spent in Boston, working in the opera house and as assistant conductor to Seiji Ozawa at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He played a key role in the world premiere of Messiaen’s opera “Saint François d’Assise” at the request of the composer, who became a mentor and bequeathed his piano to the conductor. Nagano’s success in America led to European appointments: Music Director of Opéra National de Lyon (1988-1998) and Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra (1991-2000).

Performances

Elena Guseva

Elena Guseva was born on April 1, 1986. Studied at Shostakovich College of Music, the Choirmaster Department, and graduated from it in 2006 (Diploma of Excellence). 2006-2011 she was a student at the Moscow Conservatoire of Music, class of Prof. Galina Pisarenko (Diploma of Excellence).

Elena became a laureate of The Seventh Elena Obraztsova International Competition of Young Opera Singers (2009, I prize), of The 48 international singing competition Francisco Vinas (2011, III prize), of The 14 Tchaikovsky competition (2011, III prize and Webcast audience choice) of II International competition for voice and piano duos (2014, II prize).

She was awarded the medal For faith and kindness (2011 year)

Elena performed solo recitals at the festivals: Trecastagni international music festival (Italia), September music festival (Moscow), Beethovenfest (Bonn, Germany), Elena also participated in other festivals: Spring in Russia, Traditional Svyatoslav Richter Festival of Music (in Tarusa), Music festival Crescendo.

Since December 2009 Elena Guseva has been the soloist of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre. There she sang parts of Tatiana in “Eugene Onegin”, Lidochka in Shostakovich’s “Moscow, Cheremushki”, Antonia in “Les Contes d’Hoffmann”, Mimi in “La Boheme”, Micaela in “Carmen”, Natasha Rostova in “War and Peace”, Donna Elvira (Mozart, “Don Giovanni”) and Cio-Cio-san in “Madama Butterfly” Puccini.

Performances

Nadezhda Karyazina

Russian born Mezzo Soprano Nadezhda Karyazina was born in Moscow and trained at the Russian Academy of the Theatrical Arts in Moscow. Upon graduation, she attended the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre.

She has won multiple prizes including a Diploma at the Russian Theatrical Competition 'Capital Renaissance' (2008) and second prize at the Savonlinna Opera Competition in Finland (2012). She was also a prize winner at the prestigious Operalia and Neue Stimmen competitions (2012).

She was a member of the Young Artist Program of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, where she has taken part in master-classes with Gloria Guida Borelli, Laura Claycomb, Elena Obraztsova, Eugeny Nesterenko, Luba Orfenova, Diane Zola, Richard Bado and Ann Hallenberg among others. Her debut at the Bolshoi was as Petronova “The Tsar’s Bride”, conducted by Vasily Sinaisky.

She was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden (2013/14) and made her stage debut there as Mercedes (Carmen). Other operatic roles there included Flora (La Traviata), Madrigal Singer (Manon Lescaut), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Second Lady (Die Zauberflote), Bersi (Andrea Chenier), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) and Meg Page (Falstaff). She has also sung Polinesso (Ariodante) and Charlotte (Werther) at the Salzburger Landestheater, Lel (The Snow Maiden), Soneyetka (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk) and Princess Clarice (The Love of three Oranges) at the Bolshoi Theatre.

She has performed the roles of Marquise Melibea in scenes from “Il viaggio a Reims” by Rossini at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow with the 'Moscow Soloists' Chamber Orchestra under Yuri Bashmet. In March 2011 she sung the part of mezzo-soprano in Mozart's Requiem at the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.

In 2015, she became a member of the ensemble at Staatsoper Hamburg. Her engagements for the 2016/17 season included Mercédès (Carmen), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Emilia (Otello), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Kontschakowna (Prince Igor), Pauline (Pique Dame) and Second Lady (Die Zauberflöte).

Performances

Vincenzo Costanzo

Vincenzo Costanzo is one of the youngest Italian tenors of the opera scene, winner of the “Oscar Della Lirica” Award (New Generation Tenor Award), in Doha (Qatar) in December 2014. Born in 1991, he began his musical studies at the age of six years old, singing in the children choir of Teatro San Carlo in Naples. At the age of 11 years old, he made his debut as a soloist. He studied piano and music theory privately then graduated at the conservatory.
In parallel he took Degree in Computer Engineering. He began to study singing with M°Marcello Ferrara, son of the famous violinist M° Aldo Ferraresi; later studied with M° Marco Berti.
Despite his young age, Costanzo has already had the opportunity to know and work with internationally renowned conductors and directors such as M° Daniel Oren, M° Franco Zeffirelli at the Arena di Verona, Liliana Cavani at the Liceu in Barcelona.

In December 2012 he made his debut in “Macbeth” at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, under the baton of M° Andrea Battistoni; in July 2013, on the occasion of the Verdi Bicentennial, he debuted in Busseto in the role of Rodolfo in “Luisa Miller” under the conduction of M° Donato Renzetti
and with the extraordinary collaboration for the theatrical staging of the baritone Leo Nucci.
Then he sang the same role at Teatro Comunale di Piacenza,
Teatro Comunale of Ferrara and the Teatro Dante Alighieri in Ravenna, with great success by the public and critics; in September of the same year he made his debut in the role of Alfredo Germont in “La Traviata” conducted by M° Daniel Oren at the Guangzhou Opera House, in a production of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden of London. After the experience in China, he takes part in setting of “La Traviata” at La Scala in Milan for the opening of the 2013/2014 season.
In February 2014 he debuted the role of Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly” at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under the baton of M° Juraj Valcuha and later took part in the production of “Simon Boccanegra” at the Municipal Theater in Piacenza directed by Riccardo Canessa. In the spring of 2014 he made his debut as Pinkerton at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, with the conduction of M° Bisanti; role then also debuted at Teatro San Carlo in Naples.

Subsequently he collected new successes in the role of Alfredo (La Traviata) in Novara with M° A. Battistoni and in Astana (Kazakhstan) with M° Francesco Ciampa Ivan.
Costanzo ended 2014 by taking part in New Year concerts at Guangzhou Opera and Shanghai (China).

Recently he performed in “Madama Butterfly” with La Verdi Orchestra in Milan, in Florence, Piacenza and Venice, in “Macbeth” at the Dutch Opera Theatre in Amsterdam and in Palermo, as Rodolfo in “La Bohème” in Palermo, “Luisa Miller” as debut at Teatro Real in Madrid, “Nabucco” at the Reggia di Caserta in Italy, “Un Ballo in Maschera” in Piacenza and Modena, “Madama Butterfly” in San Francisco. He was also invited to the AIDS Gala at Deutsche Oper in Berlin, where he also sang Alfredo in “La Traviata”.

His upcoming engagements include “Madama Butterfly” in Madrid and Venice, “La Rondine” in Berlin, “Simon Boccanegra” in Liege and “I masnadieri” in Bilbao.

Performances

Alexey Bogdanchikov

Alexey Bogdanchikov is a young Russian baritone. Born in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) in 1985. In the 2011/2012 season he embarked upon his first resident contract in the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Alexey Bogdanchikov previously studied at the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre and the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in Moscow, where, in October 2012, he returned to complete his master’s degree in music. In September 2012 he won the 2nd prize in the prestigious European Vocal Competition “Debut”. He has also taken part in various Russian vocal competitions and won prizes in Smolensk (2006) and Rusa (2007). In 2010 he was winner of the Armel Opera Competition in Hungary, which led to his engagement in the role of Barrett in Marco Tutino’s opera “The Servant” at the Armel Opera Festival in Szeged. He sang this role again in Pilzen, Czech Republic, and, in, 2011, in Lugo, Italy. In January 2011 Alexey Bogdanchikov made his debut at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Wolfram in “Tannhauser”.

Alexey Bogdanchikov’s repertoire includes number of important roles in Russian, Italian and German operas like Onegin in "Eugene Onegin", Robert in "Iolanta" and Prince Eletsky in "The Queen of Spades" by Tchaikovsky, Belcore in "L’elisir d’amore" by Donizetti, Marcello in "La Boheme" and Ping in "Turandot" by Puccini, Wolfram in "Tannhauser" by Wagner and Barrett in Marco Tutino’s "The Servant". In June 2013 he represented Russia at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Guest contracts in 2013/2014 included Marchese in "La Traviata" in Guangzhou Opera House, at The Teatro Luciano Pavarotti in Modena and at the Teatro Municipale in Piacenza Alexey made his debut as Paolo Albiani in "Simone Boccanegra" next to Leo Nucci and Carlo Colombara. Also Teatro Delle Muse, Ancona, engaged Alexey to sing the role of Belcore in "Elisir d’amore" and Teatro Dell’Opera di Roma to do Morales in "Carmen". Also Alexey sang the role of Onegin in Astrakhan opera house and in Magnitogorsk. From 2014 Alexey Bogdanchikov is a member of ensemble of Moscow Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre where he made his debut in the title role in "Eugene Onegin" by Tchaikovsky. In the season 2014/2015 he made his debutes as Conte in "Le Nozze di Figaro", as Prince Eletsky in "The Queen of Spades" and as Mercutio in "Romeo and Julliete" by Gounod.

In 2015/16 he joined the ensemble of the Hamburg State Opera.

Performances

Sergei Ababkin

Sergei Ababkin was born in 1991 in Parabel, Russian Federation. In 2008 he entered the vocal faculty of Krasnoyarsk College of Arts by Ivanov-Radkevich (teacher V. M. Gavrichkov). 2011 he won the first prize of the International Competition "Romansiada" in Moscow. A year later Sergei Ababkin entered the vocal faculty of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory by Rimsky-Korsakov (teacher n. a. of Russia, Y. M. Marusin) and is currently in his fourth year.

His repertoire includes Lykov in Rimsky-Korsakov´s "The Tsar's Bride", Lensky in Tchaikovsky´s "Eugene Onegin" and young Romani in Rachmaninoff´s "Aleko".
Since 2016/17 Sergei Ababkin is part of the International Opera Studio at the Hamburg State Opera.

Peter Galliard

Peter Galliard was born in Chur, Switzerland. He studied under Rico Peterelli, at the Conservatory in Feldkirch under Maria Eibenschütz and at the Mozarteum Salzburg under Rudolf Knoll, where in 1985 he won First Prize at the International Mozart Competition.

In 1986 Rolf Liebermann invited him to join the Hamburg State Opera, where Galliard has been working till today. In Hamburg he sang Tamino in “Die Zauberflöte”, Jaquino in “Fidelio”, Cassio in “Otello”, Froh, Loge and Mime in “Das Rheingold”, Augustin Moser in “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”, Alfred and Eisenstein in “Die Fledermaus”, Peter Iwanow in “Zar und Zimmermann”, Bardolfo in “Falstaff”, Captain in “Wozzeck”, the Witch Knusperhexe in “Hänsel und Gretel”, Lenskij in “Eugen Onegin”, Narraboth in “Salome” and Don Basilio in “Le Nozze di Figaro”. In Amsterdam he sang the Prince in “Lulu and the Captain”. Peter Galliard also sang L'Aumonier in “Dialogues des Carmélites“ and Melot in “Tristan und Isolde“, Walther von der Vogelweide in “Tannhäuser“, Wolfgang Capito in “Mathis der Maler“, Goro in “Madame Butterfly“, Red Whiskers in “Billy Budd“ and Demon in “L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe“. In March 2008 Peter Galliard performed in the new production of “The Ring” in Hamburg as Loge in Rheingold. In 2008/09 he sang the part of Mime in “Das Rheingold” and Augustin Moser in “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”. Also in 2009 he made his debut as Mime in the new production of “Siegfried” and was highly praised by the audience and press. In the 2010/2011 season he sang in new productions of “Bliss” and “Palestrina”. In 2011/2012 concert performances of “Siegfried” and “Das Rheingold” led him to Lisbon and Australia. In the 2012/2013 season he gave a concert performance of “Das Rheingold” in Santa Cecilia. In summer 2013 he was part of concert performances of “Das Rheingold” and “Siegfried” at the Lucerne Festival. In spring 2015 “Siegfried” in Nuremberg followed. Apart from his commitments in Hamburg, in 2015/2016 he sang the Gurrelieder in Shanghai and Beijing, a concert at the Salzburger Osterfestspiele and the role of Haushofmeister bei Faninal in “Der Rosenkavalier” at the Opéra National de Paris. 17/18 leads him as guest to the Enescu Festival in Bucharest where he will be singing Capito in “Mathis der Maler”.

Peter Galliard performed at many opera houses in Germany – at the Staatsoper and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, as well as at the Opera Houses in Frankfurt, Dresden and Leipzig. He also worked in Japan, Spain, France and Israel. Peter Galliard’s repertoire is very extensive. There are many TV, radio and CD recordings of his opera, Lied and concert performances. The tenor worked with famous stage directors such as August Everding, Johannes Schaaf, Harry Kupfer and Peter Konwitschny as well as with great conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christian Thielemann, Ingo Metzmacher, Simone Young and Kirill Petrenko.

On December 9, 2017, the Hamburg Senate honored Peter Galliard with the title of “Kammersänger” for his special merits in the field of music.

Alexander Roslavets

Alexander Roslavets graduated from the vocal department of the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in 2014 where he studied under Professor Nikolai Okhotnikov.

While studying at the Conservatory he was a soloist of the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory theatre where he appeared on stage as Malyuta Skuratov in “The Tsar's Bride” by Rimsky-Korsakov and sang at the numerous festivals and concerts. In July 2013/14 he took part at the open-air opera festivals in Saint Petersburg where he sang the parts of Mephistopheles in the opera “Faust” by Ch. Gounod and King Dodon in the opera “The Golden Cockerel” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov conducted by Fabio Mastrangelo. In April 2014 he made his debut on the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theatre as Tom in “Un ballo in maschera” by Verdi.

In the seasons 2014/15-2015/16 he was an artist of the Young Artist Program of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. In 2015 he made his debut on the stage of the Bolshoi performing the part of Marchese d'Obigny in “La Traviata” by Verdi under the baton of Tugan Sokhiev.

In November 2015, he debuted on the stage of the Bolshoi theatre of Belarus singing Don Basilio in “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini.

In June 2016 he performed the part of Duke of Cornwall in the World Premier of S. Slonimsky`s King Lear on the stage of the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall conducted by Vladimir Jurowsky.

In July 2016 he covered the part of Mephistopheles in the new production of “La damnation de Faust” staged by Peter Stein in the Bolshoi. He sung the part of Brander in the premiere conducted by Tugan Sokhiev.

In October 2016 he joined the ensemble of the Hamburg State Opera.

Alexander took part in several international competitions among which in 2014 the 42nd Russian National Vocal Graduates Competition in St. Petersburg where he won the Grand Prix and the 1st International Christmas Vocal Competition in Minsk where he was awarded a special prize. In 2015 he took part in the 10th International competition of E. Obraztsova in St. Petersburg where he was awarded a diploma and he won the first prize in the 7th International Competition of Opera Singers «Saint-Petersburg». In 2016 he won the second prize in the 6th Galina Vishnevskaya International Opera Singers Competition in Moscow and the Grand Prix and the Audience Prize in the II International Eva Marton Competition in Budapest. He is the laureate of the Special Foundation of the President of Belarus, which supports young talents.

Performances

Maria Koler

Performances

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

The Philharmonic State Orchestra is Hamburg’s largest and oldest orchestra, looking back on many years of musical history. When the “Philharmonic Orchestra” and the “Orchestra of the Hamburg Municipal Theatre” merged in 1934, two tradition-steeped orchestras combined. Philharmonic concerts have been performed in Hamburg since 1828, artists such as Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms being regular guests of the Philharmonic Society. The history of the opera company goes back even further: Hamburg has been home to musical theatre since 1678, even if a regular opera or theatre orchestra was only formed later. To this day, the Philharmonic State Orchestra has embodied the sound of the Hansa City, a concert and opera orchestra in one.

Starting with the 2015/2016 season, Kent Nagano has taken on the position of Hamburg’s General Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra and the Hamburg State Opera. In his first season Kent Nagano initiated a new project, the Philharmonic Academy at St. Michaelis, focusing on experimentation and chamber music. In 2016 Nagano and the Philharmonic undertook a successful three-week concert tour in South America. Since 2017 Kent Nagano and the Philharmonic State Orchestra have continued the traditional Philharmonic Concerts at the new Elbphilharmonie, for which they commissioned Jörg Widmann to compose the oratorio ARCHE, which was given its world premiere during the hall’s opening festivities.

The Philharmonic State Orchestra offers approximately 35 concerts per season and performs more than 240 performances per year at the Hamburg State Opera and the Hamburg Ballet – John Neumeier, making it Hamburg’s busiest orchestra. The stylistic bandwidth covered by the 134 musicians, ranging from historically informed performance practice to contemporary works and including concert, opera and ballet repertoire, is unique throughout Germany. Chamber Music has a long tradition at the Philharmonic State Orchestra: what began in 1929 with a concert series for chamber orchestra has been continued since 1968 by a series of chamber music only, which celebrates its 50-year anniversary in 2017/18.

In 2008 Simone Young and the Philharmonic State Orchestra won the Brahms Award of the Schleswig-Holstein Brahms Society. In 2012 Simone Young received a Helpmann Award for performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Wagner’s Rheingold with the Philharmonic in Brisbane, Australia. The orchestra has recorded the complete Ring by Wagner as well as the complete symphonies of Johannes Brahms and Anton Bruckner – the latter in the rarely-performed original versions – as well as works by Mahler, Hindemith and Berg, and has released DVDs of opera and ballet productions by Hosokawa, Offenbach, Reimann, Auerbach, J.S. Bach, Puccini, Poulenc and Weber.

The members of the Philharmonic State Orchestra feel equally beholden to the Hansa City’s musical tradition and responsible for the city’s artistic future. Since 1978 the musicians have been participating in education programmes in Hamburg’s schools. To this day, the TV format Musikkontakte initiated by Gerd Albrecht during his tenure as General Music Director is unforgotten. Today, the orchestra maintains a broad education programme, including school and kindergarten visits, patronage for music projects, introductory events for children and family concerts. The orchestra’s own academy prepares young musicians for their professional careers. The Philharmonic’s musicians thereby make an equally enjoyable and valuable contribution to tomorrow’s music education in the music metropolis of Hamburg.